It has become more and more common for people to avoid eggs. Maybe due to health, dietary restrictions, culture/religion, etc. In a plant-based diet, eggs are avoided as they come from an animal. Although you don’t need to follow a vegan or a plant-based diet in order to know the best vegan egg substitutes.
What do you do when you run out of eggs? What about if you have to bake for someone who is vegan? Do not worry about it, in this post you will find five easy ways to replace eggs in a recipe without even noticing it.
How to make a baking recipe vegan?
There are a few things to look out for when you are baking with the intention of making the dish plant-based. Although some baking recipes call for meat, it is not that common and you will mostly find dairy and eggs.
Dairy milk can be easily substituted for alternative milks such as almond, cashew, soya and oat. Substituting a dairy cream you can use a plant-based cream such as coconut cream. There are also multiple different types of vegan butter on the market that make it easier to replace cow's butter.
What can you replace eggs with?
We’ll look at 5 vegan egg substitutes that will make your recipes healthier and often even more delicious! Let's look into their health benefits and how to use each one of these substitutes.
Mashed Banana
Bananas can be used in a variety of ways, and they have plenty of nutritional benefits. Bananas are loaded with vitamins and minerals. They are a great source of potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
When using a banana as a vegan egg replacement you will need half of a medium-sized banana that needs to be mashed. Sometimes you will be able to taste the banana when you are done, especially when the other flavours are not that powerful; definitely something to take note of if you are not a banana fan. It may also add a little more sweetness to the recipe especially if the banana is ripe.
Using mashed bananas as vegan egg substitutes works best in baking recipes such as cakes and cupcakes.
Amount: 1 egg = ½ medium-sized banana, mashed
Best Uses: Quick Breads, Cakes, Cupcakes, Muffins, Pancakes
Applesauce
You may be familiar with the phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. That’s because apples have many nutritional benefits. They are filled with antioxidants and flavonoids which may help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
With applesauce you need to be careful as there can be added sugar into ones on the market. When using applesauce as a vegan egg substitute you’ll often need it to be unsweetened. You can check if the apple sauce has added sugar by looking at the ingredient list, make sure it only contains apples and sometimes ascorbic acid.
Substituting applesauce in a recipe works best for cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies.
Amount: 1 egg = 4 tbsp of applesauce
Best Uses: Quick Breads, Muffins, Pancakes, Cakes, Cookies, Brownies
Ground Flaxseed with Water
Flaxseeds are becoming more popular in the health world as more and more people add them to their daily diet. Flaxseeds have an insane amount of fibre in them, the soluble fibre can help with regulating blood sugar levels and cholesterol.
Flaxseeds are made up of 18% protein. They are nearly a complete protein, except that they miss one of the essential amino acids, lysine. Flaxseeds are also rich in fat and contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Containing an abundance of vitamins and minerals, flaxseeds are definitely something to consider adding to your diet.
To make vegan eggs you need ground flaxseed. If you have flax seeds that are not ground you can throw them in a coffee grinder until they form a powder. Then mix three tablespoons of water with the ground flaxseed and allow it to rest until it becomes gelatinous.
Ground flaxseed can be used as vegan eggs replacement in the majority of baking recipes.
Amount: 1 egg = 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp water
Best Uses: Cookies, Brownies, Pancakes, Breads
Silken Tofu
Tofu is such a versatile key ingredient for many vegan recipes. Tofu is not only high in protein, but it’s also a complete protein as it contains all 9 essential amino acids our bodies need.
When using tofu as a vegan egg substitute it needs to be silken or commonly called “soft tofu.” The difference between silken and medium or firm tofu is the amount of water each contains. Silken tofu has the highest amount of water across all the tofu products.
You will need a quarter of a cup of silken tofu blended until smooth for it to substitute an egg. Silken tofu is great for many baking recipes such as cakes, cupcakes, and brownies.
Amount: 1 egg = ¼ cup silken tofu
Best Uses: Cakes, Cupcakes, Brownies
Aquafaba
Aquafaba is another wonderful vegan egg substitute. Aquafaba is the liquid left over from cooking chickpeas, or simply the liquid in the chickpea can. It is extremely low in calories and has a low nutritional value - it contains nearly no protein, carbohydrates or fat.
That makes it perfect for low-carb baked goods, as well as any recipes you’d like to keep low in calories.
Amount: 1 egg = 3 tbsp aquafaba
Best Uses: Cakes, Pancakes, Muffins
Egg Replacer
There are actually vegan egg replacers on the market that are completely plant-based. These are super easy to use and they are cheaper than chicken eggs. This great egg substitute made by ‘Free & Easy’ has the equivalent of 45 eggs in one tub and costs only £2.39. Usually, the egg replacer is used to substitute eggs in baking recipes.
Egg replacement products may have different measurements but will have instructions on how to use them on the label.
And that's a wrap
Now knowing how to change a chicken egg to a vegan egg substitute in the recipe, you no longer need to worry about using a non-vegan recipe. For those who use chicken eggs, we dare you to try these out, you may be surprised with how well they work!